Jones faces heavy jail sentence for his role in Leroy shooting

Christopher Jones could face a possible sentence of between 98 to 196 years in prison for his role in the September shooting of College senior Patrick Leroy, according to Common Pleas Court Judge Carolyn Temin. Jones pleaded guilty to 13 counts -- including the attempted murder of Leroy -- in a pretrial conference Monday. The suspect also pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree robbery, each of which -- according to University Detective Patricia Brennan -- carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Brennan speculated that Jones' motivation for "pleading out" was to receive a "lesser sentence." Assistant District Attorney Jodi Lobel added that a defendant "can show he is saving months of time and energy and he is holding himself accountable for his actions" by pleading guilty. She said the other two suspects in the case, Christopher Crawford and Albert "Sultan" Bandy, would receive similar benefits by pleading guilty at their February 13 pretrial conference. But although Lobel said it was "not unlikely" that Crawford and Bandy would also plead guilty, University Police Detective William Danks said he "doubts it." And while Lobel had predicted Jones' guilty plea weeks before the actual conference, the move caught University Police officials by surprise. "We were certainly not anticipating it," Brennan said, noting that people do not usually plead guilty at informal pretrial conferences. "Quite often they're just a bunch of 'legalese' between lawyers." Danks said the conferences usually serve as forums for lawyers to disclose their evidence and witnesses to the judge and set trial dates. But Lobel said the conference was "exactly the place to plead guilty," as Jones had only two remaining options -- request a trial or plead guilty. Lobel added that she suspected Jones would plead guilty because the pretrial conference had been assigned to court room 604. She explained that first degree felony cases are only reassigned to the court room if a defendant has indicated intentions to plead guilty. Crawford and Bandy allegedly approached Leroy, College senior Leonard Dunn and Wharton senior Cameron Reilly on 40th and Locust streets September 25. The suspects were allegedly armed with semi-automatic weapons. Leroy fled the scene after seeing the gun, and Crawford allegedly shot him in the side. The suspects then ran to a car parked on 40th Street, where Jones was waiting. Jones turned himself in to Philadelphia Police officers October 17, shortly after the arrests of the other suspects. The suspect, who allegedly had less involvement in the Leroy incident than Crawford or Bandy, was also involved in two other armed robberies September 25.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.